Competitive gaming, commonly referred to as electronic sports or “eSports,” involves the playing of video games in a competitive environment. Video game competitions have existed for nearly as long as video games themselves. Early competitions were set up as one-time tournament style matches between players focused on one particular game, often tied to new product releases. Eventually, competitive leagues and a constant stream of tournaments evolved to provide structure for the eSports community. Players now have the option of competing in a vast array of professional and amateur competitions held at physical locations or in virtual competitions conducted online. Leagues and content providers such as Major League Gaming (MLG), Global StarCraft® League, Collegiate Starleague, IGN Pro League, GameSpot®, and GotFrag provide opportunities for competition and to find information about competitive gaming. Until recently, participation in competitive gaming has demonstrated a gradual, steady pace of growth. However, competitive gaming is presently undergoing a rapid expansion in participation and interest. This growth is a result of many factors, including increased exposure, competition sponsorship, popular game releases, improved video streaming technologies, and advances in video game graphics and sophistication.
The expansion of competitive gaming has led to increased demand for information and content related to leagues, competitions, and top competitors. In addition, vast amounts of data are generated from competitive gaming events and related activities. However, data alone may not be enough for content consumers to understand a competitive gaming event or to maintain interest in site content. The amount of resources, in both personnel and technology, required to create meaningful stories from competitive gaming data may be cost prohibitive for most leagues and content publishers. Accordingly, there may be a need for an improved apparatus and methods for providing a natural language narrative about the various competitive gaming leagues, teams, competitors, and competitive events.